Kirtipur Municipality Removes Unpaid Advertisements from NPL Venue

Kathmandu. The Tribhuvan International Cricket Ground in Kirtipur, the venue for Nepal's biggest and most prestigious franchise league 'Nepal Premier League (NPL)', has been beautifully decorated. While the game is thrilling and the audience's excitement is high inside the ground, Kirtipur Municipality has become serious about the issue of commercial advertising and tax collection outside the ground. The local government, Kirtipur Municipality, is upset because the organizers or advertisers have not paid all the taxes according to the rules, despite widespread commercial advertisements being placed from street poles to the ground targeting the competition. The municipality, stating that it has not received the revenue it is legally entitled to, is preparing to deploy its municipal police to remove the arbitrarily placed advertising boards without paying taxes and without prior approval. "The municipality has always been positive about the development and expansion of sports, but everyone must abide by the rules and laws. Accordingly, we are now removing advertisements that do not pay taxes," said Shubhalakshmi Shakya (Sunita), Deputy Mayor of the municipality, to Ratopati. The municipality understands that coordination with the local government and adherence to the rules to be followed were disregarded for a major and prestigious competition, and instead, advertisements were placed arbitrarily in violation of the rules. Deputy Mayor Sunita informed that municipal police have been deployed from today to remove all advertising boards that have been placed without paying taxes and without prior approval from the municipality. She stated that the practice of corporate houses and advertisers benefiting in the name of sports while evading even the basic taxes payable to the local government is wrong, and therefore, municipal police are being deployed. According to the information provided by Deputy Mayor Shakya, revenue has been deposited in the municipality's account only for some limited advertisements placed on welcome gates and poles on the road leading to the cricket ground. However, there is a huge and unnatural difference between the amount of advertising seen on the field and the revenue received by the municipality. Not a single rupee of tax has been paid to the municipality for the countless advertisements, hoarding boards, and flex print advertisements placed on both sides of the road. "Advertisements were found painted on the ground's wall overnight, which not only affects the beauty of the city but is also a direct violation of legal procedures. We heard that there was some dispute between the Tribhuvan University (TU) administration and the advertisers regarding this matter the other day, but the revenue from any of those advertisements has not come into the municipality's treasury," said Deputy Mayor Shakya. Since it is not possible to say how many advertisements have been placed without monitoring and measurement, Shakya said that the municipality is deploying municipal police to the field to understand the reality, measure, and regulate. "The municipal police are currently monitoring every advertisement from the streets to the vicinity of the ground. The municipality's strategy is to proceed only after confirming which advertisements have paid taxes and which have not. If advertisements are found to be placed without paying taxes and in violation of the rules, the municipality is preparing to remove them immediately." The Kirtipur Municipality's economic procedures and laws clearly stipulate that a certain rate must be paid as tax for placing advertisements within its geographical area. The Local Government Operation Act, 2074, and the Municipality's Economic Act give local levels the right to collect entertainment tax or commercial tax on the sale of tickets for any commercial, entertainment, or sports activities within their area. According to Narendra Maharjan, Head of the Municipality's Revenue Department, tax has been deposited to some extent in the municipality only for advertisements placed on welcome gates built on the roadside so far. The municipality is collecting tax at the rate of eighty rupees per square foot for advertisements placed on welcome gates. However, for the dozens of posters, banners, and advertisements placed on street electric poles, trees, walls, and other public places, neither the organizer nor the advertiser has paid any revenue so far. The municipality has started removing these illegal advertisements that have not come under the tax net from today. Maharjan clarified that CAN has been notified by letter to measure all commercial advertisements placed inside the cricket ground (within the compound) and deposit the applicable taxes according to the rules. The municipality claims that taxes from the local government also apply to advertisements placed inside the ground, as they fall within Kirtipur's geographical area. The dispute is not limited to advertising boards. The municipality has also corresponded with the organizer Nepal Cricket Association (CAN), claiming its share of tax according to the rules on the sale of game tickets, not just advertising tax. According to Revenue Department Chief Maharjan, the campaign to remove arbitrarily placed advertisements without paying the legally due amount is underway, along with the process of collecting tax on ticket sales. Revenue Chief Maharjan informed that the municipality has formally written a letter to the organizer CAN urging them to pay the tax. The letter clearly demands that 4 percent of the total amount received from the sale of NPL tickets must be paid to the municipality as a local government. Using its legal authority, Kirtipur Municipality has asked CAN to pay a 4 percent fee. Since thousands of tickets are sold in a large competition like NPL, it directly impacts Kirtipur's roads, waste management, traffic management, and peace and security. The municipality argues that it is its natural legal right to claim a share in ticket sales, as the local government has to bear all these physical and environmental burdens. In the past, many international and national cricket competitions have been held at the TU ground. The level of NPL and the professionalism (corporate sponsorship) involved are very high, and the financial transactions are also huge. While crores of rupees are involved in sponsorships and advertisements, the ground where the game is being played, Kirtipur Municipality, should not be left empty-handed, according to the municipality's argument.